head torque method?

[flatford8]

I’m a real rookie at this stuff but if I’m wrong I don’t mind getting beat up…… Won’t the shared exhaust port get the middle of the engine a lot hotter than each end?….so the valves, seats, pistons and cylinder walls get hotter than the ends without any type of coolant in the engine?…this thought is out of my own head and why I wouldn’t run without coolant…… Mark

 

[Mart]

For what it's worth, I wouldn't run an engine dry after build. I'd run an old engine without coolant for a minute or so just to hear it run.
Re torqueing, I did adopt a different policy on my last build re the re-torqueing. I backed the nut off just a smidge before tightening to the torque value.
I can't say for sure if it helped or not, but I couldn't se that it would do any harm and it could be doing some good.